BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE, Argentina — Eight years after the unexpected death of Argentine football icon Diego Maradona, and 10 months after judicial scandal derailed the first legal proceedings, a fresh negligence trial targeting his former medical care team got underway Tuesday in the Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro.
Widely regarded as one of the most talented and influential football players in the history of the sport, Maradona passed away in November 2020 at age 60, just two weeks after undergoing emergency surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain. He was undergoing at-home recovery when his condition suddenly deteriorated.
Forensic examinations have confirmed Maradona’s cause of death as heart failure combined with acute pulmonary edema, a dangerous buildup of fluid in the lungs. Court documents allege the seven medical professionals who oversaw his post-surgical care committed gross negligence in the planning and execution of his home convalescence, directly contributing to his death. Prosecutors have upgraded the charges to wrongful homicide with possible intent, arguing the medical team continued their planned care plan despite clear awareness that their decisions put Maradona’s life at severe risk. If convicted, each defendant faces prison sentences ranging from 8 to 25 years.
The first trial, launched last year, collapsed after two months of testimony amid a major judicial controversy. One of the three presiding judges, Julieta Makintach, was exposed for participating in a clandestine unauthorized documentary about the case, which included secret recordings captured inside the courtroom. The scandal led Argentine courts to annul the entire first proceeding, forcing a full retrial.
When court opened this week, the packed San Isidro courtroom included several of Maradona’s immediate family members: daughters Dalma, Gianinna and Jana, as well as his former partner Veronica Ojeda. More than 120 witnesses are scheduled to testify over the course of the retrial, which legal teams estimate will conclude no earlier than July.
In a pre-trial interview with Radio Con Vos over the weekend, Vadim Mischanchuk, a defense attorney representing psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, pushed back against the prosecution’s narrative. “If there is one thing that has been definitively ruled out across all evidence, it is any malicious criminal plan to kill Maradona,” he said. Defense teams across the board maintain Maradona, who struggled publicly with substance use disorders involving cocaine and alcohol for decades, died of natural causes unrelated to medical negligence. Defense lawyer Francisco Oneto has also formally requested that the entire retrial be broadcast live on national television, a departure from the current plan that only allows live coverage of the opening session and the final verdict.
Maradona’s death in 2020 sent waves of grief across Argentina and the global football community, coming in the middle of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tens of thousands of fans lined up for hours to pay their final respects as his body lay in state at the Argentine presidential palace in Buenos Aires, capping a decades-long legacy that included leading Argentina to a 1986 FIFA World Cup victory and earning iconic status at top clubs Boca Juniors in Argentina and Napoli in Italy.